Sonolite
Sonolite (in bottom left corner) with zincite and manganosite
General
CategorySilicate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2
IMA symbolSnl[1]
Strunz classification9.AF.55
Dana classification52.3.2d.3
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupP21/b[2]
Unit cella = 4.87 Å, b = 10.66 Å
c = 14.28 Å
β = 100.3°, Z = 2[2]
Identification
ColorRed-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown
Colorless in thin section[2]
TwinningCommon, singular or lamellar on {101}[2]
Mohs scale hardness5.5
LusterVitreous, dull
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent[3]
Density3.82–4.00 (measured)[2]
Optical propertiesBiaxial (−)
Refractive indexnα = 1.765
nβ = 1.778
nγ = 1.787
Birefringenceδ = 0.022
2V angle75° to 82° (measured)
Dispersionr > v[2]
References[4]

Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. In 1963, it was identified as a new mineral and named after the Sono mine.

Description

Sonolite is transparent to translucent[3] and is red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown in color and colorless in thin sections. The mineral has a granular habit or occurs as prismatic to anhedral crystals up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in).[2] Sonolite is the manganese analogue of clinohumite,[5] a dimorph of jerrygibbsite,[2] and a member of the humite group.[4]

The mineral occurs in metamorphosed manganese-rich deposits. Sonolite has been found in association with calcite, chlorite, franklinite, galaxite, manganosite, pyrochroite, rhodochrosite, tephroite, willemite, and zincite.[2]

History

In 1960, Mayumi Yoshinaga was investigating alleghanyite and other manganese orthosilicates in Japan. He discovered a dull, red-brown mineral on the first level ore body of the Sono Mine, and later from a number of other sites.[5] Using samples from ten locations in Japan and one in Taiwan, the mineral was described in 1963 and identified as a new mineral species.[6] It was named sonolite after the mine in which it was first found and the name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association.[4][5]

Distribution

As of 2012, sonolite has been found in Austria, France, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.[4] The type material is held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.[2]

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sonolite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Sonolite". Webmineral. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Sonolite". Mindat. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Yoshinaga 1963, p. 1.
  6. Yoshinaga 1963, pp. 1–2.

Bibliography

Further reading

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